{"id":216,"date":"2016-04-15T20:36:44","date_gmt":"2016-04-15T20:36:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mgs.performerstuff.com\/?p=216"},"modified":"2017-09-22T23:10:38","modified_gmt":"2017-09-22T23:10:38","slug":"7-essentials-ginny-kopf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/7-essentials-ginny-kopf\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Essentials: Ginny Kopf"},"content":{"rendered":"
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7 Essentials – Ginny Kopf<\/h3>\n
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Written by Ashleigh Gardner<\/p>\n

April 14, 2016<\/p>\n

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Performer Stuff Editor, Ashleigh Gardner, sits down with nationally renowned voice and dialect coach, Ginny Kopf, for an interview about dialects, accents, and the subtle (and not-so-subtle) nuances that make each culture and their dialects and accents so distinct.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>* Italicized text<\/em> indicates a dialect or accent from Ginny.<\/p>\n


Ashleigh Gardner:\u00a0<\/strong>Ginny, thank you so much for coming to visit us today to do an interview. Before we really get started with our 7 Essentials questions, could you tell me a little bit about yourself, your acting and production background, and where you are now?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ginny Kopf:\u00a0<\/strong>Sure! I am full professor at Valencia College. I was an adjunct there for 28 years.\u00a0(Laughs.)\u00a0<\/em>And then I got a full-time position as the voice, movement, and dialect trainer out there. But I was also teaching at Rollins. I was at UCF eleven years, Seminole State College. But now I\u2019m in one college [Valencia].<\/p>\n

But I come from an acting background \u2013 improvisation. I was really interested in projection and big characters. And I was always really good at dialects. Even as a little tiny kid, I would just mimic off the TV.\u00a0I got known in high school and college as somebody that could do the accents. And I was just really learning by hook or crook and\u00a0took any class I could about dialects. And directors started asking me, if I was in a show, \u201cDo you think you could teach THEM how to do the Russian accent?\u201d I\u2019d go, \u201cWell, uh, I THINK so.\u201d So I just tried it and I was good at it.<\/p>\n

AG: That\u2019s wonderful! My first question is, what is the difference between an accent and a dialect?<\/strong><\/p>\n

GK:<\/strong>\u00a0They kind of become interchangeable to people. Technically an accent is foreign. Like, we\u2019re American, so French, Russian, German, those would be accents. But a dialect would be within your own country, so there are many dialects in England. There are many dialects within France. So the dialects we [Americans] have are the southern dialects, and the New York, and the valley girl. All the different dialects within your own country.<\/p>\n

AG: So why are there so many different dialects within just one country?<\/strong><\/p>\n

GK:<\/strong>\u00a0A lot of it has to do with socio-economic level. The easiest one to explain is England. It has like forty million different dialects. And you\u2019ve got\u00a0(English – Received Pronunciation) the Queen\u2019s English,<\/em>\u00a0right? And then you even have\u00a0(English – upper class) more posh than that\u00a0<\/em>\u2013\u00a0a more elegant dialect!\u00a0<\/em>And then you have\u00a0(English \u2013 Estuary) the middle class Estuary dialect in London, which is just Ricky Gervais or something.\u00a0<\/em>And then you\u2019ve got all these countryside things, and in\u00a0(English – Northern) the North country, way at the top, they have that\u00a0<\/em>\u2013\u00a0that up-inflection \u2018cause it\u2019s right under Scotland.\u00a0<\/em>And you\u2019ve got the parts of England that are right above Wales, which is farmers and miners. So you\u2019re influenced by your economy, your social class, your topography, what you do for a living.\u00a0(English – closed throat, country dialect) If your throat\u2019s very swollen, you\u2019re in the mines all the time, y\u2019know<\/em>. Or [you\u2019re influenced] if your speech isn\u2019t important to you, like\u00a0(English – Cockney) Well I\u2019m jus\u2019 tryin\u2019 t\u2019make a livin\u2019 \u2018ere<\/em>.<\/p>\n

So it\u2019s all those influences and climate, too. It also has to do with not just social class but female\/male relationships. You think of\u00a0(US Southern belle drawl) the deep south, and the femininity of the deep south<\/em>\u00a0(US Southern gentleman) as opposed to, like, Rhett Butler, an\u2019 all that, an\u2019 Big Daddy, when macho is important.\u00a0<\/em>So some places have a male\/female. They sound very different.<\/p>\n

AG: And how do you teach dialects? Do you base it on culture?<\/strong><\/p>\n

GK:<\/strong>\u00a0That\u2019s all that I do. I teach somebody how to become Russian, become German, become Irish.\u00a0<\/em>I make it according to the archetype of their culture. Yes, we have vowel and consonant charts, and [dialects] differ in mouth shape. But I go beyond, \u201cOh, hold your mouth like this.\u201d But WHY do they hold their mouth like this?\u00a0<\/em>And then I teach not just audially, which some coaches do, but I teach\u00a0copying. Then I have them listen and record themselves. But if you\u2019re a visual learner, then you watch people, you watch their mouth, and you get the body language. And then kinesthetics \u2013 how you hold your mouth. I use all three feedback systems so I can reach whoever\u2019s in the room.<\/p>\n

AG: What a great teaching method. So a dialect isn\u2019t just a dialect, it\u2019s a personality, as well?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s who you are. That\u2019s why you can\u2019t just do a show and the last second you decide you\u2019re gonna be French. Because it\u2019s who the character is. [The dialect] has\u00a0gotta be trained early on, not after you\u2019ve learned your lines and learned your blocking. It\u2019s part of your character analysis.<\/p>\n

And then are you an archetype, or are you a rebel? Are you a shy Italian? Are you straight down the line?\u00a0<\/em>Or are you a poser, or lying and putting on? And then where does your character fit in the archetype? So a good example is Blanche DuBois.\u00a0(US Southern belle drawl)\u00a0<\/em>\u201cI depend upon the kindness of strangers.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>Blanche DuBois in\u00a0A Streetcar Named Desire<\/em>, she\u2019s the archetype to a T,<\/em>\u00a0(US Southern drawl)\u00a0<\/em>but her sister Stella, she has the same accent, but she\u2019s not posin\u2019 at all, so she doesn\u2019t put on those airs.\u00a0<\/em>She still has that accent, but she\u2019s a totally different character.<\/p>\n

AG: Right. And how would you suggest someone who is doing a dialect for the very first time approach that dialect?<\/strong><\/p>\n

GK:\u00a0<\/strong>Put it in something they understand. So [at Universal Studios] the Durmstrang, the Russian students, they\u2019re not actors \u2013 most of them \u2013 they are gymnasts and martial artists. And I ask them before we start, \u201cWhat\u2019s your background?\u201d and they all say, \u201cGymnast. Martial artist.\u201d But I immediately\u00a0(Russian) get them on their feet. And we talk about the character. Out in the snow at four in the morning, and (shivers) you\u2019re frozen and holding your head up high, and you will get the back of your legs caned if you do wrong. Right! YESSIR!\u00a0<\/em>It\u2019s like boot camp. We talk about the character.<\/p>\n

When I work with the girls that were playing Merida from\u00a0Brave<\/em>\u00a0[at Disney],\u00a0<\/em>they gave me a room full of pretty girls. I ask, \u201cWhat do you do all day?\u201d They said, \u201cThis.\u201d\u00a0(draws bow and huffs)\u00a0<\/em>So that\u2019s EXACTLY how we do the accent.\u00a0(Scottish, breathy) They own it right away because yer goin\u2019 (draws bow and huffs). <\/em>You\u2019re a warrior. They get it. The light goes on. They OWN it right away.<\/p>\n

AG: Incredible. So though professional theatre may be far off for middle and high school students, why is knowing a dialect so early on so important as an actor?<\/strong><\/p>\n

GK:\u00a0<\/strong>It gives you more range! If you have an arsenal of the most important dialects, then, when an audition comes up, you\u2019re not caught off-guard.\u00a0Sometimes\u00a0for film auditions and for TV, it\u2019s like, \u201cHere. Do it in a French accent.\u201d And they expect that you\u2019re just gonna pull it out of your backside. You\u2019ve gotta have an arsenal of the most commonly used dialects. But also think about for voice over. And improv!\u00a0It gives you a lot of range if you\u2019ve got a bunch of character voices.<\/p>\n

AG: And the thing that you said about knowing the most popular ones, or the most needed ones\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 that actually leads into my next question. If you could choose three dialects to start with for a beginner, which ones would you suggest?<\/strong><\/p>\n

GK:<\/strong>\u00a0I always start with British.\u00a0You gotta figure out what class you\u2019re in and stay in your class.\u00a0(English – Estuary) Because most people do the middle-class Harry Potter accent.\u00a0<\/em>(English \u2013 Received Pronunciation) But what if you have to be like Cate Blanchett, Kate Middleton? Perfect Queen\u2019s English?\u00a0<\/em>(English – high Standard British) Or if you\u2019re in Pride and Prejudice. You\u2019ve got to do a period play. Well, you\u2019ve got to be upper class. You can\u2019t go to a [middle class dialect]. There was no middle class until about 1970.\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>Then all the way down to Cockney and different levels of Cockney. British cleans up their diction problem, so that they\u2019re not saying, \u201cLemme do it. Can\u2019t\u2019cha, didja?\u201d because they have to have very crisp T\u2019s. So it helps an actor.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t do the second [most important], but the most important American ones are the Southerns, and the difference between the Southerns,\u00a0the New Yorker. But also French, Russian, Australian. Nowadays, they need Middle Eastern. That\u2019s needed because of the plays that are out. You look at what\u2019s playing at the movie theatres. \u201cWhat accents are you gonna need?\u201d It\u2019s whoever we\u2019re at war with, ya know?\u00a0(Laughs.)<\/em><\/p>\n

AG: Can you tell me a little bit about your textbook,\u00a0<\/strong>The Dialect Handbook<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/a>, and the concepts and questions you cover in it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

GK:\u00a0<\/strong>It really goes through the whole process of learning, researching, and performing a dialect role.\u00a0[It’s]\u00a0from the word go\u00a0with\u00a0questions like you were asking: \u201cWhat dialect should I learn?\u201d or \u201cWhat skills do I need to be a dialectician?\u201d All the way through audition preparation! It\u2019s easy to read because I wanted a junior high [student] to be able to read it. So anybody can read it.\u00a0One of [the lessons] is, \u201cOh my god! I have to be Irish tomorrow! How do I fake my way through this audition?\u201d\u00a0<\/em>Then, \u201cI\u2019m cast. Now what do I do?\u201d or \u201cHow do I hold my own when he\u2019s speaking Russian, and I\u2019m the only Irish guy?\u201d and \u201cWhat if I start losing my accent?\u201d\u00a0And then a very important chapter is \u201cAdapting to Dialect for the Stage.\u201d Because you can\u2019t have a full-on Yorkshire or Cockney accent up there. No one will understand you. I\u2019m about clarity and pulling back and pulling back.<\/p>\n

Then I\u2019ve got a full bibliography of the dialect sets that are out there. I have a list in the back [of the book] of thirty-five different accents and the different movies you can see. I like leading people to movies because they\u2019re clearer in movies. And I even tell people in the Dialect Directory, \u201cDon\u2019t watch THIS movie. The accent\u2019s terrible.\u201d\u00a0(Laughs.)<\/em><\/p>\n

AG: Thank you so much for coming in and answering our questions today! It was really great to meet you.<\/strong><\/p>\n

GK: Yeah, sure, sure!<\/p>\n

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Ginny Kopf<\/u><\/em><\/strong> is well known in Florida as a vocal trainer to singers, actors, business professionals and media personalities. For 20 years she has given private lessons and taught courses on Voice, Diction, Dialects, Accent Reduction, and Professional Image at L.A. Acting Studio, UCF, and Valencia Community College. Ginny has done extensive speech and dialect coaching for Disney, Universal Studios, and numerous theatres and corporations, locally and nationally. She has a Masters Degree in Theatre Voice and an MFA in Vocal Science, and has authored a textbook, <\/em>The Dialect Handbook<\/u><\/em> and a CD series, <\/em>Accent Reduction Workshop<\/u><\/em>.<\/em><\/h5>\n
Ashleigh Gardner<\/strong> received her AA in Theatre\/Drama\/Dramatic Arts\u00a0from Valencia College and\u00a0her Bachelors Degree in English Literature and\u00a0Masters Degree in Literary, Cultural, and Textual Studies from\u00a0the University of Central Florida. She is a playwright, an actor, and PerformerStuff.com’s Editor.<\/em><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [...]","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":219,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[261,259,258,256,272],"tags":[317,31,26,30,321,18],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=216"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}